ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND / RankWire.AI / – A Scottish employment tribunal awarded former waiter Raymond Joseph £5,469.04 after determining racial harassment occurred at a PizzaExpress outlet. During an argument in April 2025, a coworker repeatedly called Joseph an American and a “Yank,” while also telling him to leave and go back to his country. Employment Judge Melanie Sangster ruled that these comments were directly related to nationality. The decision considered the repeated remarks, their public nature, and their impact on Joseph.
Joseph began employment at the Union Square restaurant in Aberdeen in September 2024, typically working between 20 and 22 hours weekly. On April 8, 2025, Joseph and fellow waiter Michael Tortolano managed a busy service together. An argument erupted amid the strain of customer demand. Tortolano told Joseph that nobody liked him, referenced his American nationality, and used the word “Yank.” In response, Joseph called Tortolano a “bald loser.”
Later that same shift, Tortolano repeated the nationality-based insults. Parts of the confrontation could be heard by customers and others present. Joseph told the tribunal that these remarks caused him hurt and embarrassment. He provided a written account to a manager that day and continued working. The tribunal found that the exchange met the legal criteria for harassment related to race. Under the Equality Act 2010, race encompasses nationality, citizenship, and ethnic or national origins.
Compensation reflects emotional distress
The tribunal ordered PizzaExpress to pay £5,000 for injury to Joseph’s feelings, placing this within the middle of the lower Vento compensation band. Courts utilize this framework to assess emotional harm in discrimination cases. Additionally, £469.04 in interest was awarded, calculated at an 8% annual rate over 428 days. The ruling clarified that there was no separate financial loss related to the harassment. Joseph continued working without seeking medical treatment.
Workplace investigations began on May 20, roughly six weeks after the incident. The tribunal described this delay as unreasonable but found no unlawful motive behind it. Tortolano later admitted to the misconduct during a disciplinary hearing. As a result, management deemed his actions gross misconduct and issued a final written warning, considering his remorse, admission, and disciplinary history. The company also reviewed separate allegations concerning Joseph’s conduct, access to information, and workplace communication.
Other claims dismissed after hearing
A manager concluded Joseph had committed misconduct and dismissed him without notice on June 20, 2025. The reasons included his behavior during the argument, an unrelated inappropriate remark, and unauthorized access to confidential company data. Specifically, Joseph was found to have sent company material to his personal email. He denied these allegations and did not appeal his dismissal. The tribunal later determined that misconduct alone justified his removal from the restaurant.
Joseph also filed claims for victimisation, protected disclosures, and automatically unfair dismissal. All these claims were rejected by the tribunal. While it recognized that several of his disclosures were protected, it found no direct link between those disclosures and the management decisions in question. The Aberdeen hearing lasted seven days across April and May 2026. The tribunal issued its judgment on June 10, with Joseph only prevailing on the race-related harassment claim.